James Cohan Gallery has announced that Partner David Norr has assumed sole ownership and leadership of the gallery. Since joining in 2015, Norr has played a central role in the gallery’s growth and success, helping shape its strategic direction alongside James and Jane Cohan. Following a carefully planned succession process, he now leads the gallery into its next chapter, building on its distinguished history while advancing its vision for the future.

The gallery has relaunched as NORR COHAN, a name that both carries forward its founder’s legacy and marks its evolution. James Cohan will continue to work with artists and collectors, ensuring continuity of those longstanding relationships. Jane Cohan has retired from her role at the gallery.

Before joining as Senior Director, Norr served as a curator at the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. This experience has informed his belief in the importance of institutions providing sustained, long-term advocacy for artists, a philosophy he shares with James Cohan and one that attracted him to the gallery. After being named a Partner in 2018, Norr became a co-owner in 2021 as part of the leadership transition plan.

Founded in 1999 by James Cohan, the gallery has built an internationally recognized program guided by the principle that its first obligation is to its artists, nurturing both their practices and their place in art history. The gallery’s artists span generations, cultures, and geographies, including Fred Tomaselli, Yinka Shonibare, Robert Smithson, Spencer Finch, Beatriz Milhazes, Bill Viola, and Elias Sime, as well as more recently Firelei Báez, Teresa Margolles, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Eamon Ore-Giron, Naudline Pierre, and Kennedy Yanko. The gallery has also mounted significant historical exhibitions, including presentations of Mary Sully and Toshiko Takaezu.

photo: Jordan Tiberio